Lauter tubs



Feb. 19, 1957 E. Dn'TRlcH LAUTER TUBs Filed Nov. 9, 1953 6 Sheets-Sheet l WW2 L. ffm' lxbl NSEM@ r ATTORNEY LAUTER TuBs 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 9, 1953 L O u I lf: r. l1 lllll. l Il.

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' Feb. 19, 1957 E. DrrTRlcH LAUTER TUBS 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Nov. 9. l953 lullin BY /f/-f ATTORNEY United States Patent LAU'IER TUBS Edwin L. Dittrich; East Orange, N J., `assigner, Abymesne assignments, to TheTfau'dler Co.,"Rochester, N. Y., a corporation of New York ApplicationiNovember9, 1953, Serial No. 390,890

`This inventionrelatestolauter tubsyand has for its object to provide several improvementsV thereto.

.Aflauter tub is essentially-.a `device lfor'strainingwort liquidfrom the mash--grains; `and comprises -agperforated false bottomresting on and separated from thetank` bottom itself bylspacer lstuds attached A*to-thefalse bottom. The tankbottom is provided--with suitable 'drainage openings.

The invention yprovides a combined gear drive and Jhydraulic system unit motivati-ngthe yshaft which revolves inl a'universalbearingattached! to the'bottom of the tank,

Lsaid shaft having verticalfreedom ofmovernent through out lift-ing the false' bottom.

The invention I also `provides 4lauter lblades -with i strips of flexible'matei'ial -attachedto theirQ lower--endsto -allow `said lauter blades tolvvipethe `false`bottom clear.

Finally, the yinvention provides Aa *pneumatically'operated spent gra-in valve.

The inventionj will4K beffurtherdescribed? hereinafter, an embodimentl 'thereo'fwill l'be' illustrated inthe accompanying drawing, andftheinven'tion` willibenallyvpointed out inthe :appended claims.

ln the accompanying drawing: Fig. l is a side elevatiomf'partly'in central vertical sec- `tion of Va valley bottomlauter tub'fassembly;

Fig. V2s a' top view ofthe-valley bottom;-'taken'online 2-2 of Fig. 3; i Fig. 3 is .azvertical section .taken Aon line 3410i rige;

Fig. '4. is -a-section `oni lineML-si' of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a section on line S-S of F-i-gQ;

lFig. 7 is a si'defview.y of afdetailfoffthechannell'knuiliug;

Fig. V8 is.atop -viewcofra freinoviableichannel section for clean out; y

Fig.v 9 is af-.sideuviewrofaa channelisection;

Figi l1 isa `detail view ofitanks'hell;

1^Fig. F12 is 4an .enlargedlcentral :vertical section :of 'y the hydro drive illustrated inFig. 1;

Fig. 13is an enlarged centralverticalasectionthrough the self-aligning :bearing :and :the lauter rbi-tides fsupporting systemtakenabove the-valley bottom;

Fig. 14 is anlenlargedidetailof aportion ofthe kstructure shown in'Fig. 13,'pointed out by ythe arrow;

Fig. 15 is a partial frontwvieweofa-scraper'typelauter blade; p

Fig. '16 is'a'partil side viewof the bladeto'fFg. "15;

2,782,013 Patented .Eeb. .19, .1957

Fig. 17 isa top view of the lauterblades actuating system;

Fig. 18 is a diagrammatic viewillustrating various po-A sitions of lauter blades at4 end Jr-xy of Fig. 17;

Fig. 19 is a section on line 19-19 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 2O is a top plan view ofportionsiof the drive mechanism shown in Figs. 1 .and'l2.

Simiiar characters of reference indicate, corresponding parts throughout the various views.

Referring now in more 'detail to the drawing,.and more particularly to Fig. l, the tank.20 is circular Aand open at its top. A central rotatingvsha'ft 21 hasarms 22 rigidly attached thereto and these arms'22 each .supports a plurality ofblades '23, the lower ends ofewhich are adjacent to the false bottom 24 which is open, is adjacent toand above the val-ley bottoms 25. These valley bottoms 25 are provided withrdischarge openings into pipes 26 which, in the embodiment shown are circular and allterminate in a parallelgroup of wort ring outlets 28 (Fig. 2). The tlushoutwater inlet -valves 29 (Fig. 2) areshown diametrically opposite.. YSuch structures are known.

`In conventionallauter tubs, the hydraulic cylinder is mounted into-the interior of the'tank and attached to the bottom itself. The purpose ofthe hydraulic cylinder is to enable the operator to impart vertical movement to the arms, to which are attached the lauter blades. In contrast to such conventional devices, thehydraulic cylinder 30 of myinventionhasbeen madean integral part of a newly designed gear .'drivefunitand is completely removable from the lauter tank 20litself. The actuating uid employedin the new unit isoil, used in a suitable return system which permits continued re-use thereof. The use of the .oil is very advantageous .as it is conducive to smooth operation of the unit. The older lauter tub system necessarily 'had vto use water .as the hydraulic medium, vso 'as to avoid contaminating wort with substances other than water.

eliminate the `use of glands or stuiiing'cboxes, as follows:

The shaft is Valigned .through va spherical universal bearing 32 and rotatesin a bronzebearing sleeve which is non-rotatably mounted, 'buthas suicient'movement so thattthe bearing can turn to a limited .extent in any direction about the center.

A stainlesssteel tube'63 of suflicient height to prevent any mash from slopping over the upper end and lfrom eventually running out ofthe'tubis attached to the top of bearing 59 by a `number of' machine screws. This arrangement permits the-drive shaft to extend throughthe mash,` without'the mash touching'the shaft. .Sincethe universal bearing is rigidlyiixedto the tank bottom, it supports'the shaft and'theusual top outboardy bearing maylbe omitted. v

The l-auter arms, usually 2,13, or "4 in number, are

` fastened to a fhub 35 whichlin turn is attached to'the vertical drive shaftby means of atightikeye'd titwith bronze bushing.

itis customarythatleach *of'the lauter armsbejpm. vided with some sort lof mechanismtorotatelthe lauter blades about their vertical axes.' i"Usually =this motion is instituted through a worm gear assembly and suitable linkage to each lauter blade, each lauter arm being provided with its individual worm gear mechanism. This usually entails considerable time and physical'effort by the operator. In the improvement according to this invention, the worm gear mechanism has been replaced by a hydraulic double acting cylinder, which in turn,

through proper linkages, actuates the individual lauter blades. Whether the tub has two or more lauter arms, one hydraulic cylinder is used.

The hydraulic system required for operation of the sparger acts in the following manner:

The liquid which in this case will be water is conducted by copper tubing to the rigid pipe 67 which is fastened to the top of the shaft 48, so that it moves with the shaft. To the top of the piping is tted a liquid-tight coupling 68, with one member of the coupling rotating about the other. must move in a vertical direction with shaft 48, a flexible hose 70, 71 is used to connect the non-rotating coupling to the shell of the lauter tub.

Another improvement is in passing the hydraulic piping through the rotary sparger.

Still another improvement is in a flushout system, in which the lauter tank bottom can be cleaned without raising the false bottom. Previous efforts were made to accomplish this function by using ordinary spray nozzles,

but the coverage was never complete.

By the use of an inverted channel, whose flanges are serrated, tack welded to the tank bottom in an inverted position, a thin tilm of water at high velocity sweeps the bottom of the tank clean. Water is conducted to the channels at various points by a manifold system.

l t has been a continual problem in the industry to effect the removal of the last l or l/2 of grains laying on the false bottom. The spent grains were removed by the lauter blades which have been turned sidewise. To prevent digging in and ripping up the false bottom, the lauter blades were never allowed to descend closer than a predetermined distance. The brewer then either had to shovel or sweep out the residual grains with manual labor. Or, he would lay a piece of hose belting or plank in front of the blades, and riding the false bottom.

in the improved lauter blade, a section of flexible material (such as a synthetic or natural polymer, or the like) is inserted in the bottom of the lauter blade. The presence of the polymer does not interfere with the normal function of the blade. However, when the blades are used for removing grains, it becomes possible to lower the blades to a point where there is actual physical contact of the exible scraper with the false bottom. The polymer being flexible, there is no danger of damaging the false bottom, since the flexible material merely acts as a sweeper.

lt has also been customary to operate the spent grains valve, which is in effect a sliding valve, manually. In accordance with this invention, design has been changed to allow the valve to function with a double acting pneumatic cylinder. A ledge has been incorporated in the valve body serving as a further support for the valve stern.

A pump 38 supplies the high pressure oil to actuate the hydraulic ram 30, by pipe 30a, through a check valve 39, a by-pass line 40 being provided to return the oil from the cylinder to the pump reservoir 41. This by-pass has a solenoid valve 42, and an adjustable valve 43. A push button 44 for the motor 38a is provided. The by-pass 40 leads into the tank 41. A pump inlet filter 46 is shown. On the panel board (not shown) a device 47 with limit switches, is used, whereby the travel of the main shaft 48 of the lauter machine may be predetermined. The piston 49 of the cylinder supports the shaft 48 which leads to the compression coupling Sil;

The lower part of the shaft 48 is splined as at 51, to engage it with the spider 52. The spider carries the low Since the rigid vertical piper false bottom are provided with registering openings.

speed worm gear 53. The high speed worm 110 has a double expanded shaft on the right hand side 111 being connected with a flexible coupling 54 of a large moving rotor motor 55. The left hand side 112 is connected with the free wheeling coupling' 56, which is connected with a triple reduction gear motor 57. When the high speed motor 55 is energized while putting the mash into the tub and also when removing spent grains, free wheeling coupling 56 allows the low speed, reduction gear motor 57 to remain at rest, but the high speed worm 110 on shaft 111 drives a worm gear 113 which drives a shaft 114 carrying a worm 115 which, in turn, drives low speed worm gear 53. When low speed motor 57 is energized as in lautering off, it drives shaft 112 and worm 11) and, through the connection described, drives worm 53 at a lower speed, shaft 111 being merely idled in its motor 55.

The arrow 58 shows the direction of rotation. The upper end of the shaft 48 is supported by a self aligning sleeve bearing 59, comprising a spherical member 60 enclosed by a split bearing housing 61 (in two parts Fig. 13), whose lower flanged end 62 is fastened to valley bottom 25. The false bottom 24 rests on said flange 62.

The object of this self aligning bearing is to over* come any bending of the shaft 48 in the event that the lauter tank tilts, either by underbalanced load, or other reasons, as uneven support or settlement in the brewing.

No stuffing box is needed as the shaft 48 is surrounded by a telescopic sleeve 63, the upper end of which is well over the liquid level at all times. This sleeve surrounds shaft 48 and is connected by bolting to the top of the self aligning bearing 59. An apron 64 concentrically surrounds said sleeve 63 and is fastened to a support 65 which carries the lauter arms 22. When the support 65 is raised the apron 64 serves to prevent liquid from splashing onto the shaft 48.

At the top of the shaft 48 is an inset 66, which has the series of ducts shown in Fig. 14 illustrating a detail of Fig. 13.

A tubular member 67 extends upwardly through a sparger unit 68 into a rotary union 69, through a flexible hose connection 70, to a valve and hydraulic pump on the outside of the tank, and another hose connection 71 from the pump and valve shown in Fig. 1.

The insert 66 has one duct and connection 72 which discharges into one side of the hydraulic cylinder 73, while the other side of the hydraulic cylinder is connected with a duct and connection 74.

When the hydraulic cylinder 73 is actuated, its piston actuates one end of an elbow lever 75, which is pivoted at 76. The other end of the elbow lever 75 is connected with a link 77 in turn pivoted to a lever 78 which actuates the blade linkage so as to move the blades irregularly. A similar connection with link 79 and lever 80 connects the operation of the elbow lever to the blade linkage of the second arm 22. The blade linkage of the third arm 22 is connected with and operated by lever 75, as shown.

From the operation of the blade control described, the blades take different positions as shown in diagrammatic form in Fig. 18, illustrating the last five blades at the free end of arm 22, as indicated at x-x in Fig. 17.

The lower ends of the blades are provided with an insert 81 of polymer, or any other flexible material. This is flexible and in closing the space from the blades to the false bottom, an efficient clearing of the false bottom of the grains is provided. (Figs. 15 and 16.)

To remove the spent grains, the valley bottom and the A valve cover 82 closes normally the openings, or more particularly the lower opening. A support 83 is pro vided for a shaft 84 which has a clamp 85 against which a forked lever 86 acts to push the valve cover32 upwardly so that the gasket 87 is compressed to form a tight seal. An air cylinder 88 is connected with the arma-,fo 1 s end' ofthe shaft, so that-on the operation of air cylinder the shaft 84 is-drawntoward it. This removesthey valve cover 82, and permits the contents-to descenddhrough the openings into the discharge chute89.

In the'use of lauter tanks, and-the grinding of the grains ofrthe mal-t whilefthe wort drains through the false bottom, a quantity of sludge or overdough known also as under-dough is formed on the valley bottom. To remove these, it was usual to lift up the false bottom segment, and thiswas cumbersome. This improvement comprisesprovidinga supply of rinsing Water atv-the distributingV pipes, so that the sludge or overdough is washed away;-

The main body of -suchpipes is easily supplied, but the outer and innerradial parts'of` thev pipes need some modification.

In Fig. 2 there is shown in plan view a series of supply pipes 90, terminating at rthe circular pipes 91, 92'and 93 and 94 and controllediby valves29.y The pipes 26 in Fig. 3 are the known wort collecting pipes, and the pipes 91 to 94 are the water supplypipes.

In Fig. 4, this pipe 92 extends upwardly to below an opening 98 in the valley bottom. This opening 98 is covered by a channel 99, the flanges of which have serrations or ragged edges as shown in Fig. 7, for the purpose of evenly distributing the flush water so it acts to remove the sludge evenly throughout. The false bottom has an angular member 100 to rest on the channel 99, and the channel 99 is circular and formed in concentric dispositions corresponding to the high spots of the valley bottom. The channel 99 is free to discharge at both sides and is tack welded to the valley bottom high spot as at 101. This form of channel 99 is of the type supplied by pipes 92 and 93. The channel supplied by pipe 94 alongside the tank shell at the outermost side, flushes out only at the inside leg of the channel (Fig. 5). The channel is continuously welded at 101a.

In Fig. 6, the innermost portion of the tank is shown, where the pipe 91 feeds the channel which in this case is formed by a cutout 99a, land a ring 102 held by a srew 103. Here as radially outward, one side of the valley is flushed.

In the cleaning of the channels, it is advisable to cut out a part of the channel, and then clean from the openings inwardly into the channel. When this has been done, then the cut out section is replaced and held by spring clamps in place. This is shown in Figs. 8, 9, l0 and l1.

While I have described the novel features of the present invention in connection with one preferred embodiment thereof, obvious modifications may occur to a man skilled in the art and I therefore do not desire to be limited to the exact details shown but only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A lauter tank having a valley bottom and a false bottom spaced above said valley bottom, a shaft projecting upwardly into said tank through said bottoms, lower bearing means for said shaft below said tank bottoms, a self-alining bearing for said shaft in substantially horizontal alinement with said false bottom and in vertical alinement with said lower bearing means, whereby said shaft is relieved of bending stresses and of supporting bearings above said self-alining bearing, means operatively engaging said shaft below said bottoms for rotating and moving the same vertically in said bearings, means on said shaft having a plurality of radially extending lauter arms, a plurality of blades pivotally supported by and depending from said lauter arms, a device on said lauter arm means including motor means for rotating said blades, and remote control means for said motor means located on the outside of said tank.

2f A lautertankhaving a vall'eybottom and 1a false bottom spaced above said valley bottom, a'shaft projecting upwardly intol said tank through' said bottoms, lower bearing meansA for said shaft below saidtank bottoms, a self-alining bearing for said shaft in` substantially horizontal alinement with said false bottom and in vertical alinement with said lower bearing means whereby said shaft is relieved of bending stressesand free of supporting bearings above said self-alining bearing, means operatively engaging said shaft below said bottoms for rotating and moving the Same vertically in said bearings, means on said shaft having a plurality of radially` extending lauter arms, a plurality of blades rotatably supported by and dependingfrom said lauter arms, a` device includingfmotor means on said lauter arm means for rotating-saidblades, a tubular extensionl on said shaft above said lauter arm means, and remote control means for said motor means connected through said shaft extension and located on the outside of said tank.

3. A lauter tankhaving la valleybottom and a false bottom spaced above said valley bottom, a shaft projectingvupwardly into said tankV through said bottoms, bearing means for said shaft, means operatively engaging said shaft below said bottoms for ro-tating and moving the same vertically in said bearing means, means on said shaft having a plurality of radially extending lauter arms, a

y plurality of blades rotatably supported by and depending from said arms, a device on said lauter arm means for rotating said blades, a hollow extension on said shaft above said lauter arm means, and remote control means for said device connected therewith through said shaft extension and located on the outside of said tank.

4. A lauter tank having a valley bottom and a false bottom spaced above said valley bottom, a shaft projecting upwardly into said tank through said bottoms, lower bearing means for said shaft below said tank bottoms, a self-alining bearing for said shaft in substantially horizontal alinement with said false bottom and in vertical alinement with said lower bearing means whereby said shaft is relieved of bending stresses and free of supporting bearings above said self-alining bearing, means operatively engaging said shaft below said bottoms for rotating and moving the same vertically in said bearings, means on said shaft having a plurality of radially extending lauter arms, a sleeve on said self-alining bearing enclosing said shaft to an elevation above the liquid level in said tank, and an apron sleeve depending from said lauter arm means and telescopically and sli'dably engaging said first mentioned sleeve to prevent access of liquid to said self-alining bearing.

5. A lauter tank having a valley bottom and a false bottom spaced above said valley bottom, a shaft projecting upwardly into said tank through said bottoms, lower bearing means for said shaft below said tank bottoms, a self-alining bearing for said shaft in substantially horizontal alinement with said false bottom and in vertical alinement with said lower bearing means whereby said shaft is relieved of bending stresses and free of supporting bearings above said self-alining bearing, means operatively engaging said shaft below said bottoms for rotating and moving the same vertically in said bearings, means on said shaft having a plurality of radially extending lauter arms, a plurality of blades rotatably supported by and depending from said lauter arms, a device on said lauter arms including motor means for rotating said blades, remote control means for said motor means located on the outside of said tank, a sleeve on said self-alining bearing enclosing said shaft to an elevation above the liquid level in said tank, and an apron sleeve depending from said lauter arm means and telescopically and slidably engaging said first mentioned sleeve to prevent access of liquid to said self-alining bearing.

6. A lauter tank having a valley bottom and a false bottom spaced above said valley bottom, a shaft projecting upwardly into said tank through said bottoms, bearing means for said shaft, means operatively engaging said shaft below said bottoms for rotating and moving the same vertically in said bearing means, means on said shaft having a plurality of radially extending lauter arms, a plurality of blades rotatably supported by and depending from said lauter arms, a device on said lauter arms including motor means for rotating said blades, a tubular extension on said shaft above said lauter arm means, remote control means connected with said motor means through said tubular extension and located on the outside of said tank, a sleeve connected with said false bottom and enclosing said shaft to an elevation above the liquid level in said tank and an apron sleeve depending from said lauter arm means and telescopically and slidably engaging said rst mentioned sleeve to exclude liquid from said shaft.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,131,260 Mydegger Mar. 9, 1915 1,224,213 Rosenthal May 1, 1917 1,606,747 Carter Nov. 16, 1926 1,887,490 Imhotf Nov. 15, 1932 1,925,730 Keller Sept. 5, 1933 2,042,284 Westcott et al. May 26, 1936 2,102,385 Schock Dec. 14, 1937 2,262,863 Schock Nov. 18, 1941 2,279,970 Coe Apr. 14, 1942 A2,288,593 Mudge July 7, 1942 2,553,958 Chelminski et al May 22, 1951 2,563,622 Scott Aug. 7, 1951 2,657,804 Epstein Nov. 3, 1953 2,658,621 Bahnson Nov. 10, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 29,484 Great Britain 1906 461,302 Germany Oct. 7, 1925 OTHER REFERENCES Vogel et al.: The Practical Brewer, pages 73, 74, Master Brewers Assn. of America, 1946.

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